‘They hit him with a gun…’: How gunmen kidnapped Pres. Jonathan’s cousin in Bayelsa

Goodluck Jonathan new

by Akan Ido

Gunmen yesterday night abducted Inegite Nitabai, believed to be President Goodluck Jonathan’s cousin at his home in Otuoke, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa.

Nitabai, 70, was kidnapped on Sunday night by 10 heavily armed men who reportedly demanded for money and other valuables before taking him away to an unknown destination.

According to the children of the victim, the gunmen ordered all those in the house, Nitabai, his wife, Owiya, Nitabai’s in-law, Akinobebh Jin and three children of Nitabai, to lie face down demanding for money.

The victim’s in-law, Akinobebh Jin said, “The (kidnappers) came to the house around 9pm. The time they came, Silas was doing his assignment. Because he saw them as strange people, he ran into the house out of fear to tell us what was amiss.

“As he was telling us, the bandits swiftly moved into the house and ordered all of us to lie flat on the floor. We ran inside the kitchen, they followed us.

“They asked our father (Nitabai) to bring money. He told them he did not have any money. They were furious when he told them he did not have money. ‘How can you say you do not have money? You, a President’s cousin. We cannot believe you.’ They that was how they started hitting their gun butt on his head.

“After that, they went to where Madam (Owiya) was and asked her to bring money or else they would kill her. She told them she just came back from a trip and that she did not have enough money. They followed her upstairs to collect money from her. When they got upstairs, they started giving her the beating of her life. She gave them N400,000 and begged them to leave her husband. It was when they came down that they whisked our father (Nitabai).”

As if that was not enough, Owiya said the hoodlums locked them inside and whisked Nitabai away.

It was learnt that one of Nitabai’s children, who was not around when the gunmen came, was the one who freed the household by opening the padlock with his own key.

Read the Premium Times report below:

A security source said the victim’s vehicle was later recovered at Onuegbum community waterfront where it was abandoned, an indication that the gunmen might have made away with their victim through the creek.

Though the motive of the kidnappers is yet to be ascertained, a community source told PREMIUM TIMES that it might not be unconnected with a land tussle between the victim and some youth in the community.

The incident has led to heavy security presence in the community, which is also host to the Federal University, Otuoke.

The Deputy Commander of the Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield, Ime Ekpa, and a team of security agents visited the crime scene on Monday to assess the incident.

The Bayelsa State Police Public Relations Officer, Alex Akhigbe, confirmed the kidnap.

He said one person has been arrested in connection with the abduction while the victim’s vehicle used in whisking him away had also been recovered.

“Investigation is in progress to unmask the kidnappers and rescue the victim,” Mr. Akhigbe said.

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